WKF Structure

Favourites shine on day one of World University Karate Championship

2016-08-10

Favourites shine on day one of World University Karate Championship

Karate’s upcoming stars are already shining in Braga (Portugal) where the promising figures of the sport are gathering to become the new kings and queens of Karate at university level. The 2016 FISU World University Karate Championship started on Wednesday in the northern Portuguese city as favourites took a stand in the first day of competition.

Karate’s upcoming stars are already shining in Braga (Portugal) where the promising figures of the sport are gathering to become the new kings and queens of Karate at university level. The 2016 FISU World University Karate Championship started on Wednesday and Karatekas from nearly 40 countries are already demonstrating their abilities in UMinho Sports Hall in Gualtar (Portugal) for the 10th edition of the event to showcase Karate’s strong appeal among youngsters.

The first day of action put favourites and stars in the spotlight as the leading names of the competition confirmed the predictions in the quest to gold. Karate Star Giana Lotfy reached the final of Female Kumite -61kg after a flawless performance and after eliminating two of the main contenders in the category, defending champion Ingrida Suchankova and World Junior, Cadet and U21 Championships runner-up Ayami Moriguchi. Lotfy will clash in the final against FYR of Macedonia’s Natasha Stefanovska.



France’s Emily Thouy also stated her condition of front-runner of the competition and reached the final bout in the Female Kumite -55kg. The 2015 European champion will meet FYR of Macedonia’s Simona Zaborska , who contributed to the excellent participation of her country in the first day of competition.

The Female Kumite -68 Kg category will present an outstanding clash for gold in an anticipation of a likely contest in the upcoming World Championships in Linz. Current World champion Alizee Agier from France will try to extend her domination in the category, and she will try to prevail against upcoming figure and European runner-up Alisa Buchinger from Austria.

In Female Kata Sakura Kokumai from USA aims at increasing her tally of medals, and after her gold in 2016 Pan American championships she hopes to reach the top of the podium against Japan’s Misaki Tanaka.

Spain’s Rocio Sanchez against Japan’s Miho Miyara in Female Kumite -50 Kg and Turkey’s Meltem Hocaoglu against Japan’s Natsumi Kawamura in Female Kumite 68+ Kg are the other bouts for gold in women’s categories.



In men’s competition, Japanese and Egyptian athletes completed a successful first day as the two delegations placed some of their leading names in the finals. Japan’s Hiroki Kubo will fight for gold in Male Kata against Morocco’s Mohammed El Hanni, while compatriot Ken Nishimura will meet Egypt’s Ali Elsawy in Male Kumite -75 Kg. The Egyptian representation in finals was completed with Mohamed Elkotby meeting Taipei’s Chun-Wei Wu in Male Kumite -84 Kg, and Aly Ismail clashing against Spain’s Matias Gomez in Male Kumite -60 Kg.

European champion Steven Dacosta also aims at becoming one of the stars of the tournament and will cross paths in the final of Male Kumite -67 Kg with Austria’s Stefan Pokorny. In Male Kumite 84+ Kg, the quest for gold will have Montenegro’s Ljubisa Mihailovic and Russia’s Arsen Megrabian as contenders for glory in the memorable event. 

Click here for more information and results or visit the official website of the tournament.

Click here to watch the event live on streaming.